


Dream Beneath A Desert Sky

by killjoymutual



Category: Bandom, Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys (Album), Desolation Row (Music Video), My Chemical Romance
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-10
Updated: 2017-09-10
Packaged: 2018-12-26 07:48:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12054510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/killjoymutual/pseuds/killjoymutual
Summary: Desolation Row was the heart, the place to go for true live music. It was the last of the music venues, where bands played under bright lights to audiences looking to lose themselves to guitars and drums and the voice of a singer screaming into a mic. It was the last true music experience the city could offer. Juvies protected it like it was gold because to them there was nothing worth more than that experience.





	Dream Beneath A Desert Sky

**Author's Note:**

> title from in god's country by u2

Any Juvie-hall knew where Desolation Row was. It was the worst kept secret. Even BLI knew of it, but attempts to shut it down hadn't exactly went their way. A small square of anarchy in the city and they couldn't seem to get rid of it. Every time they thought they had it in their grasp, the Juvie-halls would overpower them again. Juvies had barely anything to lose and they weren't about to give up what little they had. No matter how many were arrested or killed, they kept coming out the woodwork. They were like cockroaches. Desolation Row was where they swarmed. There were places to rent instruments throughout the Lobby, sure. You could go to just about any street and hear the tune of something being played. But Desolation Row was the heart, the place to go for true live music. It was the last of the music venues, where bands played under bright lights to audiences looking to lose themselves to guitars and drums and the voice of a singer screaming into a mic. It was the last true music experience the city could offer. Juvies protected it like it was gold because to them there was nothing worth more than that experience. 

Gerard had been coming to Desolation Row ever since he made it out of the white hell of the main city. He was drawn, like many before him, by the chance to feel alive. His brother Mikey had always been quieter, more reserved, but even he couldn’t deny the pull of Desolation Row.

It was in the dispersing crowds after the shows he met them. First it was Ray, who picked him up after a Drac raid. Gerard had been caught in the crossfire. Nothing major, it wasn’t like he was in danger of bleeding out. Still, Ray walked him to his small apartment with talk of infection and bandages, and patched him up. He’d visited that apartment a lot since then. The opposite to this, Frank came into his life with blind rage and swinging fists. Gerard wasn’t his opponent, but one misdirected punch and he had been left stumbling. He had to admit though, it was a good punch. Frank apologised after, with a grin broken by a split lip and the offer of a shared cigarette, and they instantly became close. He wasn’t sure how Bob joined them, Mikey had somehow found him, but he fit perfectly with their little mismatched group. 

It wasn't long before they started playing together. They all had talent, and the shows they’d seen at Desolation Row convinced them that music was the most important thing they had, and delivering that euphoria to a crowd? Nothing looked better. It looked addictive, it looked thrilling, it looked like something they were born to do. They could perform, and damn, could they do it well. Their raw energy and passion saw them become a well known act on the biggest stage on Desolation Row. 

This night was risky though. This night they'd heard whispers of a Drac raid. Juvies never showed fear in the face of Dracs, but that didn't mean Gerard, internally, wasn't worried.  
Still the show must go on. And they agreed, no matter what happened, they would finish their set or die trying. 

The first few songs were like any other show. Wild; alive; the crowd throwing themselves into each other, a swarm of bodies hitting and kicking and punching. It was electric. There seemed to be more people there this time, as if the rumours of Dracs had attracted them. That was Juvies, they never backed away from a fight. 

It was their last song when things went to shit. Up until then, there hadn’t been a single sign of Dracs, and they’d gradually been able to relax into their set. Not completely relax, of course - no-one against BLI ever completely relaxed - but maybe the rumours had just been that. Rumours. But as the guitars roared into the intro and Gerard prepared to sing out his first line, he registered the sound of gunfire and screaming outside. A quick glance over to Mikey and Frank told him they’d heard it too. Another glance to Ray and Bob, and he knew it definitely hadn’t just been his paranoid imagination making it up. But they all looked defiant, playing like nothing was wrong - playing _harder_ and _louder_ even. And if they were ready to go, then so was Gerard.

In stormed Dracs, those awful masked faces pouring through the doors and meeting the wall of the crowd. Ray guns were more scarce in the Lobby. It was expensive to buy one, so most people who had one had stolen it from a Drac. But this meant most of the shots were coming from the opposing side, only a few Juvies possessing the means to return fire. The rest stopped throwing themselves at each other and focused all their punches on Dracs. What Juvies lacked in weaponry, they made up for in determination and the ability to confuse the enemy in chaos, so they didn’t see the punch coming at their masked head or the kick that made them drop their gun. Disarm the Drac and the fight became a lot easier. Juvies were almost always better than Dracs at hand to hand combat.  
From his position on the stage, Gerard watched as unmasked Exterminators followed Dracs in. The Dracs provided a barrier between the Juvies and them, because Dracs were disposable empty shells, but Exterminators were more revered and more important to BLi. Their shots were precise and flew between Dracs to hit more Juvies as they rushed forward.

And the band, they played. They hadn’t even stuttered, they knew this was coming. The music seemed to lend the crowd more energy to continue fighting, and Gerard could see the disdain on the Exterminators faces as they hit the wall of sound. 

It was obvious though that the Juvies weren’t going to win this. They rarely did against an attack of this scale, with Exterminators and ray guns. Instead they did as much damage as they could in the moment, and after, they did their best to recover, rebuild, and get back to normal. Inevitably, the enemy started to make its way through the crowd and closer to the stage. Gerard stared down the approaching Dracs, standing his ground with his microphone in hand. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Mikey play with his trademark neutral expression as if nothing was happening; Ray shred as if the crowd were still clammering to reach for him; Frank spit water over the Dracs, like he often would with fans, before going back to playing his heart out. He couldn’t see Bob but from the unwavering beat, he supposed he was playing just as hard as ever. These guys meant the world to him, and fuck, this wasn’t the time to be getting sappy but he was proud of the malice he could see in their eyes and the way they defiantly kept going. 

BLi hit the front of the crowd as the song was ending. Gerard had already sang his last line, and he couldn’t help but think how ironically perfect the timing was. He picked up the microphone stand he’d kicked to the ground earlier, and gave a slight grin as he connected it with the head of a nearby Drac. He was vaguely aware of his bandmates and best friends fighting similar fights as the enemy swarmed the stage. 

In a better world, they all would have fought off the Dracs and escaped out the back door, recovering for a few days before hitting the stage again. But no matter what BLI wanted to make you believe, this wasn’t a better world. They had Bob trapped on the ground, a gun in his face. They had Ray backed against a wall and were wrestling his hands behind his back - he wasn’t making it easy though. Mikey’s hands were already pinned by a Drac and two others held his arms in case he attempted another escape - his first was almost successful. Frank was struggling against his captors, swinging around viciously and swearing, but they held tight. Gerard was the last to go down, exhausted but still grinning as hands held him in a painful grip, twisting his wrists behind him. 

They were pulled outside to an armoured van. On one hand, they weren’t dead, so they were lucky in that respect. On the other hand, they were with BLI, who could make being shot dead in a raid look like a peaceful way to go. Or they might not be killed, which could be way way worse. 

It was just the five of them in the van together. Their hands were secured, but their mouths were free to talk and shout. As the doors closed, they continued to smile and laugh, anything to show they hadn’t been put down by this. Dracs were practically unprovokable but Exterminators still had vague emotions, and they obviously hadn’t enjoyed the shows of rebellion they’d witnessed. The doors shut and the only light filtered through a barred window. They gave themselves a second to decompress, to register where they were going and what was likely going to happen. They gave themselves a second of silent thought. They gave themselves a second - and only a second - to be scared. And then they dropped back into being satisfied by the night’s events, still riding the high of playing and fighting. They weren’t in the mood for silence and hoped whoever was driving could hear them. 

“So” Gerard started, “What do you want to sing on the way?”

**Author's Note:**

> first fic on ao3 done! i'm hoping it'll be multi chapter, and i can follow the killjoys to their time at bli and beyond. that is, if i manage to keep writing regularly. i've failed in the past but i'm gonna do my best, so keep an eye out and maybe hmu on tumblr @killjoymutual


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